Jedi are not to lie. Even telling someone a fib so as not to hurt their feelings is frowned upon within the Order. Thus, Perdante sadly looked her mentor straight in her cat-golden eyes. "Yes," she answered. "I felt your anger through the Force. It was at a lethal level. You could have killed me if you hadn't held back just a tiny portion of it. The reason that you don't remember is--well..." She thought a moment. "It was like your rage had utterly taken you over. You were a fountain, spewing out fury and hatred, and I could barely stop it." She sighed.

Sal had been about to comment on the Jedi's sudden flight when another woman caught his attention; and when she did, his face paled. She'd seen him, too.

"Salvatore!" cried the voice of Captain Fara Starr. She stepped into the mess hall to get herself a drink, and was met with this instead! First the Jedi, now Sal...what next? Was the entire engine crew going to decide to go on strike??

"Were you ever given leave from your post??" She demanded, her heels clicking loudly against the durasteel floor.

"N-No, ma'am, but you see--"

"There are no buts, soldier! You were given strict orders to stay right where you were - and I don't believe that there's any room for interpretation in those orders, is there?"

His dejected affirmation was drowned out by a sudden alarm that made both start. Fara whipped out her datapad...and paled when she saw the source of the alarm. She looked up at Salvatore. "The Jedi." She breathed. And just like that, they were bolting off.

When both came to stop in front of Juhani's room with three other security personnel, the commotion had finished...leaving the walls of Juhani's private dorm warped, and her door thrown completely off its tracks and left three feet away in the corridor. Fara didn't pretend to know what happened, and she didn't bother to ask. Her jaw was tight with temper, her eyes narrowed at the two Jedi.

"This is the last time I take any of /their/ kind on my ship." She snarled, and with a final glare that seemed to hover on Perdante for a moment, she turned on her heel and left, leaving a mystified group of men behind her.

Juhani sighed heavily and began using the force to move the walls back to their original positions. It wasn't hard work but it was taking a bit of concentration to get the dents out of the wall.

"It looks like this time it was my fault apprentice." She said sadly as she lifted up the door with the force and began to hold it directly on it's hinges as she reached for her supply bag and pulled out a few bolts as she continued working on the door.

"It was like your rage had utterly taken you over. You were a fountain, spewing out fury and hatred, and I could barely stop it."

"It's that Twi'lek." Juhani growled as she finally managed to get the door back on it's hinges and then turned her attention to the few remaining dents on the wall. "There's something about her that unleashes my darkside. I was furious at her for making such comments to Visas. Add that to the fact that she offered to hide visas and was not punished."

The dents in the wall vanished, leaving the room looking like it was before the explosion of force energy. The only thing that looked out of place was the various items strewn all over the floor.

She looked over the room and smiled slightly. "At least the captain can't complain about the room anymore. But for a while I suggest that we lay low and simply stay out of her way. She is angry at both of us right now."

"I agree," replied Perdante, helping Juhani to straighten out the walls and miscellaneous strewn-about objects with the aid of the Force. "We both have a lot of catching up to do if we're ever going to get into the Captain's good graces--or, even less than that, convince her to trust us again. I don't see how we're going to do it, unless a big battle comes up suddenly and we get our chance to be heroes." She swiveled her head around in the silence. "As I thought. We're not going to get our chance now, no matter how hard we try."

A signal beeped on Captain Starr's comlink. "Captain Starr?" came the incoming transmission. "This is Admiral Onasi here. Some of our intelligence sources have reported sightings of a 'Prophet of Truth' preaching in the Refugee Sector of Nar Shaddaa. You might want to go check it out, because this could be Khristoff."

"Damn." Garren said as he watched the assassin die. Then, he turned to the rodian. "Now that he's sorted out, the gloves are off. I'm helping the Republic take down Senator Skelch, and I need ALL the help I can get."

Aboard the Millennial

Niera followed Perdante to Juhani's quarters, feeling that the outburst was at least partially her fault. As she entered, she immediately braced herself.

"Before you lash out at me, let me speak." She said to Juhani. "I know we got off on the wrong foot, but we have to work together, and that's going to be impossible if we're at eachother's throats. I was probably wrong to accuse Visas of being a stowaway and then invite her back to my quarters, and I recognise that we're both at fault here, but it would be best to put our differences behind us. Can we agree on that?"

"Roger, Admiral." Fara answered, touching the center of her earpiece to activate the mini microphone. "We've set a course for the Outer Rim, ETA fifteen minutes. I'll have Salvatore," The name was announced louder than the rest of the words so that, even over her shoulder, Sal turned away from watching the Jedi work to look at her. "Chart a course for Nar Shaddaa as soon as we drop. Do you have anything as far as a briefing goes?"

Salvatore turned back just in time to see the door suddenly seal itself back onto its hinges. He blinked, frowned, and then looked at the others. "You make sure that they fix things up right." he told the other three soldiers, who nodded curtly, and then he marched after his captain.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Dominic looked at her with a wry grin, watching her eyes carefully for a moment before giving a nonchalant toss of his shoulders. He pretended not to notice her hesitation. "It must be a pretty serious personal curiosity." he said lightly, before nodding towards an open booth. He picked up his drink and headed for it, sitting down on one side and waiting for her to sit down on the other.

"So tell me," he said, putting his elbows on the table and leaning slightly forward. "What is it you know about this osti...whatever it was."

"I know we got off on the wrong foot, but we have to work together, and that's going to be impossible if we're at eachother's throats. I was probably wrong to accuse Visas of being a stowaway and then invite her back to my quarters, and I recognise that we're both at fault here, but it would be best to put our differences behind us. Can we agree on that?"

Juhani thought for a moment and then bowed. "I feel I must apologize as well. My anger was unjustified, but you must understand: There are so few of the jedi left and I am responsible for so many of them and I love each and everyone of the them like one of my own children. To see one of them approached like that...and your..."offer" set off my temper.

Arai smiled faintly. "Very little," she said, "apart from how to say it. Ostanovium. Beyond that, it seems almost no one knows anything about it. All rumors regarding it suggest that..." She hesitated. Dare she tell him all that she knew? She was telling the truth that she knew only a little.

Her voice trembling, she went on, "that it's a Force inhibitor of a sort. That it can strip a Force-sensitive being of their sensitivity."

Arai couldn't help how she felt about that possibility. She knew fully that her ventures into the Dark Side were taking their toll on her. The thought of what she could become terrified her more than she could even say. If ostanovium was her best bet at crushing those darker tendencies, then she wanted to give it a fair shot...

"But it's hard to get it right," she went on. "Take it in the wrong dose or form and it's either instantly lethal or it kills you slowly." She leaned back in her chair, trying to calm her mixed emotions. She didn't know if Dom could sense anything out of the "fog" he'd put himself in, but if he could, she wanted him to sense mild curiosity instead of the turmoil she felt.

Targhee Ghut sighed. "Look, please. Big-big politician the only reason this place is still open. She pay lots of creds so we can have jobs--even me. All of us on borrowed time. If we not do what politician say, we no have jobs anymore. Still, she NASTY and sends kill-kill guys to the plant to take out nosy visitors. That mean! She give us contracts that use big-big words that we not understand. Maybe you should take look." Targhee motioned for Garren to follow him to his office, with a door labeled WASTE DISPOSAL MANAGEMENT HQ. The Rodian removed his own contract from the middle drawer of his desk. "Looky here. Targhee make you another deal: If you can understand contract and tell me what it really says, then Targhee help you."

ABOARD THE MILLENNIAL

Perdante sighed and left for the Training Room on the ship. She needed to practice her lightsaber forms, and she was just beginning to learn the basics of the Juyo, or Ferocity form. It was very difficult, and as she practiced, she felt her confidence and self-esteem slowly returning. Captain Starr may not trust me because of what I did, but I'm going to try and set things right. She's wary of the Jedi--as she should be, considering how Juhani and I acted. When we get to Nar Shaddaa, I hope to be allowed on the mission to try and find out if this Khristoff is preaching his 'Truth' planetside. If I'm barred from the mission, however, it's nothing more than I deserve.

Garren followed Targhee into his office. He understood the bind that the whole crew here was in, and that made the situation a lot more complicated. Was taking down Skelch worth all these people losing their jobs? He'd sort that out later. "Let me taking a look." Garren said, reading over the contract. Suddenly the look on his face turned sour. "This isn't good." He explained.

Dominic frowned faintly, attempting to look confused as he glanced at the holonet feed that was running on a screen just over her shoulder. "Is that...possible?" he asked, the lie much easier to pull off now that he was casually not looking at her. There was a good chance she already knew he was part of the Found...but if she didn't, he wasn't going to give her any hints. "To be cut off by the Force, I mean. I know the Jedi masters can do it to those they exile, but...I always thought that that was a Force technique. How is there a natural substance that can destroy the Force?"

He lifted his glass to his lips and took another drink before looking back down at her. After a moment of silence, he said, "...where did you get this information from?"

- - - - - - - - - -

As the lightsaber whipped around, cutting a humming arc through the air, the smooth movement came to an abrupt halt with a hiss. When Perdante turned, it was Salvatore standing there with a vibroblade in hand, its mesh groaning against the beam of the lightsaber. He disengaged with a sharp twist of his wrist and stepped back, squaring off against her from across the sparring mat.

At first, it might have seemed as though Captain Starr was merely addressing the woman who was still sitting in the cell, but as she drew closer, it became apparent that she was reading from the datapad in front of her nose. The thumb of her free hand was hooked into her belt, her palm resting lightly over the top of her blaster.

"Known companion of the Jedi Exile, former apprentice to the renegade Jedi known as Nihilus, and subsequent agent of defeat thereof. Received several Jedi and Republic commendations for her participation in his defeat; disappeared from record shortly thereafter."

She looked up then, dropping her hand back to her side as her eyes fell on the woman sitting on the room's cot. "Just for future reference, Miss Marr," she said as she signed to the attending guard. The force field caging her in hummed, flickered, and then powered out. "It would be nice if you asked permission before coming aboard my ship." The words sounded serious, but there was a small smile on Captain Farr's lips. She was...joking?

"Of course." Perdante bowed to Salvatore with a smile. "It's always more effective to practice the lightsaber forms with an actual opponent, even if said opponent is not wielding a saber himself. In fact, with your using a vibroblade, it's actually better. If I'm going to fight against Khristoff and defeat him, and Khristoff doesn't use the Force, then I'd better know how to best him in melee combat. I'm trying to learn Form VII, or Juyo. Otherwise known as Ferocity, this one is the hardest form to learn. The object is to overwhelm your opponent quickly, and it's used best in duels."

As she ignited her twin silver sabers, the Jedi continued, "Maybe this way I'll actually earn Captain Starr's trust again. Right now, she hates me, as well she might. I drew my weapons on her, and I won't be surprised if she drops me off on Nar Shaddaa and leaves me there once we find the target of our inquiry. If we do, it's going to take a lot to hold me back from fighting him right there."

"Yeah, I'll just pretend that I understood what all of that meant." he said with a little smirk, and then stepped forward. He was the first to strike, throwing a swipe at her head that was quickly deflected. The only formal melee training Salvatore had received was at the hands of his boot camp sergeant, and so he didn't expect to win against a Jedi - but he could, perhaps, hold his own.

Her saber emitted another hiss as his sword caught it again. "She's really not all that bad. She's just pissed cause...well. You hurt her." It wasn't like he'd only just met the captain; they'd been working together for long enough now that both he and his brother could figure out what was going on in dear old Fara's head. "She really liked you, and you went and pulled your blades on her. But you don't have to worry; she's dealt with worse before.

"Although...if you really wanted her to shove you off on Nar Shaddaa..." Their weapons locked so abruptly that the only explanation was that he had done it on purpose. His vibroblade had caught the center of both of her blades in a cross, locking them in close proximity to each other. He was smirking at her through the web of sword, his eyes flashing devilishly. "All you'd have to do is sleep with me."

Arai almost hated how often she was hesitating during this conversation. But with her old friend somewhat harder to find in the Force, there was a slight delay in pinpointing exactly what he hoped would come of this discussion, of his questions. There! In a subtle way, he had given her a lead-in.

"Mostly rumors," she said. A short pause. "But many of them center around a group known as the Found."

Boom! she thought. Yeah, I went there. And she waited to see how Dom would try to maneuver himself around that.

"What?!" Perdante couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Had Salvatore, the smirking son-of-a-kath hound, actually said what she thought he had? In a split second, she realized what he had been trying to do: catch her off guard. Immediately, she rectified her mistake by breaking the sword web and whirling around. "Nice try, Sal!" she cried, a gleam of triumph in her eyes.

As the sparring match continued, she explained, "Sleep with you? Not a chance. The Jedi are forbidden to fall in love, or even to succumb to their emotions. That makes us weak. As for 'the act', consider it low recreation for mere mortals."

She was enjoying this, perhaps more than she should. Goading Sal was fun!

Salvatore chortled as they spun away from each other, only to re-lock a moment later; it was a dance that he didn't often have a female partner to participate with. So, needless to say, he was taking full advantage of his current chance.

"Well," he said, stepping behind her. Suddenly, his arms were reaching around her, his blade held horizontally across both of hers to restrict their movement. With a step as simple and quick as that, he had her effectively pinned against his chest - and even if it was only strong enough to hold her for a second or two, a second or two was all he needed.

She was so close that, when he turned his head just so, his lips were at her ear. "Isn't this considered 'low recreation'?" he breathed.

- - - - - - - - -

His stomach twisted a bit when the name passed her lips because, even though he knew she would eventually mention it - the name of the mineral had been splashed across every headline after the massacre on Coruscant that related to the Found. He could only be thankful that, like she said, no one seemed to understand either one.

"Yeah...I've heard a lot about them." the Pilgrim said, looking up at the news feed again, his head tilted very slightly to the side. "What do you think they actually are? I mean, the different reporters all speculate, but...I don't think anyone actually knows who or what they are. Do they?" He wasn't...lying to her. He himself didn't know the answers to any of these questions.

"I...I..." Finding herself blushing fifteen shades of red, she cleared her throat and answered, "No. This is sparring. Training. Jedi are supposed to train every day. If we don't practice, then we fall out of practice, and we can't afford to do that." She stepped out of Salvatore's arms, feeling a fractional twinge of regret. "Seriously. If I allow myself to get distracted in any way, then when the fight against Khristoff comes, I won't be prepared. Let's try again, shall we?" She poised herself into the beginning aggressive stance of the Ferocity form.

MIRACLE METALS, CORUSCANT

All of a sudden, the holonet news on the set that Targhee Ghut kept in his office showed a stomach-churning scene. Hundreds of people were being shown all over Coruscant--in private homes, in workplaces, in cantinas, and even in temples. All of them were glassy-eyed, cold, and irrevocably dead.

"This is an alert to all citizens of Coruscant," the anchor intoned. "Do not drink any municipal water if you live in the areas of..." She rattled off a list of districts that was as long as a Hutt's tongue. "It has been lethally contaminated with the metal ostanovium in its molten form. I repeat: DO NOT DRINK ANY MUNICIPAL WATER. THIS IS AN ORDER, effective immediately. Buy purified water anywhere you can. Do not panic. Stay tuned for more updates on this story, and please keep hydrated with other fluids."

Targhee Ghut knelt and squealed, beginning to choke himself in a fit of horrified guilt.

Zen looked around the room as he felt something in his head. He had sworn he heard someone screaming in rage but he couldn't see anyone. Zen suddenly heard footsteps rapidly approaching. He quickly activated his armor's camo and stepped into the shadows. He watched as the captain walked up to Visas's cell with a datapad in her hand. He tensed up a bit as he listened to Captain Starr speak to Visas. He relaxed a bit as the guard opened the cell and the Captain had welcomed Visas. With his personal goal complete he left the prison cells and headed back towards the dormitories. He was looking for Juhani in order to tell her of the good news. Upon arriving at Juhani's personal room her fixing her room with the force.

"Jedi Knight Juhani, I bring you good news. Your com...Our comrade Visas will be joining us on our mission. You will also be glad to know she was not harmed while she was in her cell."

"The same could be said of sex, you know." He was smirking cheekily at her as he let her go. Most of the women on board the Millennial had grown wise to his tricks a long time ago; needless to say, it was nice to have fresh blood to play with. That she was a Jedi was just a bonus - their reputation for stoicism made her blush that much sweeter.

But then again...she was new to this whole 'Jedi' thing, according to her records. Perhaps that was why she was being such a good sport. Or...perhaps it was...

"As you wish," he said, inclining his head slightly before falling into a fighting stance once more, his sword held up and slightly to the side of his body. "Though honestly, I have to wonder. You weren't always a Jedi. Did you have any uh...boyfriends prior to joining?" Or perhaps she was used to enjoying that sort of attention.

"Boyfriends?" Perdante scoffed. "Try 'victims'. You see, the truth is that I was a Sith Initiate before Juhani, my Jedi mentor, turned me back to the Light Side of the Force. Even though the Sith celebrate personal attachments, I never had the chance to fall in love--or even in lust. My fellow Initiates were simply competitors, direct threats to me and my growing power. The other men I was sent to murder, I murdered, feeling very few qualms about doing so. After all, my Sith Master did not tolerate failure. He himself killed the Initiates who failed him."

After parrying several of Salvatore's vibroblade swings, she continued, "My former name--my Sith name--was Gagnante, or winner. I had never lost a fight before I met Juhani, because my life depended upon victory. After Juhani defeated me in a duel and showed me mercy instead of the death I deserved, I took the name Perdante, or the one who has lost. Of course, I don't intend to lose against you." She leapt into a phenomenal combination of aggressive attack moves. How would Salvatore counter them?

"It would be nice if you asked permission before coming aboard my ship."

"I will sure do so in the future if the situation presents itself again, of that Captain, you have my word. Your investigation was rather fast. I almost expected a full night on the brig. I understand my place as a stowaway on your ship so I will not ask for accommodations, but if you'll allow me, the use of the cargo hold as a place for me to stay, I would appreciate it", Visas said right after she noticed the sound of the force field on the brig power down.

"Jedi Knight Juhani, I bring you good news. Your com...Our comrade Visas will be joining us on our mission. You will also be glad to know she was not harmed while she was in her cell."

Juhani was making sure that everything was back in good condition, but when Zen said that Visas was free she turned and smiled at him.

"Thank you for informing me Zen. I appreciate it. I think that as soon as I have a free moment I'll go and speak with Visas. There is something that I wish to discuss with her. Something concerning the exile."

And suddenly it became very simple. Garren slammed the contract down on the desk after the news bulletin finished. "It doesn't matter what it says. What matters is that people have died because of what's been going on here. You didn't know, and you were only following orders, so I'm going to give you a chance to redeem yourself. If you don't want more people to die, you're going to give me everything on Plina Skelch's involvement NOW!" He shouted, losing any sense of professional detachment.

His stomach twisted a bit when the name passed her lips because, even though he knew she would eventually mention it - the name of the mineral had been splashed across every headline after the massacre on Coruscant that related to the Found. He could only be thankful that, like she said, no one seemed to understand either one.

"Yeah...I've heard a lot about them." the Pilgrim said, looking up at the news feed again, his head tilted very slightly to the side. "What do you think they actually are? I mean, the different reporters all speculate, but...I don't think anyone actually knows who or what they are. Do they?" He wasn't...lying to her. He himself didn't know the answers to any of these questions.

It wasn't the response she was expecting and subconsciously, she adopted his diversion technique, glancing over his shoulder as she shrugged and shook her head. "I'm beginning to wonder if even the Found know what they are," she said softly. Then she looked straight at him.

"I've managed to arrange a meeting with one of them," she said bluntly, "and that is why I've come to Manaan." She paused to gauge his reaction, then continued with caution. "I'm sorry, Dom. I-I thought it was you. Seemed to fit, what with how we keep bumping into each other. But by your questions, I see I've been mistaken." She smiled faintly. "Wouldn't be the first time."

The attacks came so furiously that Salvatore couldn't keep up. He wheeled backwards wildly, attempting to put distance between the spinning blades and his face, but he fell behind quickly. When that happened, his feet weren't nimble enough to get him out of the way. His right foot didn't move out of the path of his left foot fast enough, and the laces of his uniform boots caught on each other. The next attack was parried, but just barely - and even then, it had enough force behind it to throw him off balance. He fell backwards on the mat with an 'oomff!'. His vibroblade went spinning out of reach, and he used his newly freed hand to rub at the back of his head.

"Ow." He grumbled. There would be a bump there tomorrow morning...

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dominic was very close to betraying himself, he realized - not by word or purpose...but simply by the reactions of his face. The surprised look, which wouldn't have been out of character given the meeting she had just announced, slipped into a pale grey look that was. The expression matched how he felt: like a pound of jagged lead had just settled somewhere in the lower half of his intestine. His right hand, resting on his lap and thus hidden by the table, curled into a tight fist against the tattoo.

What had given him up? He replayed the conversation they had had when they met up on Coruscant, and nothing in particular came to mind. Yet there had to be something he had done to spark her suspicion - one doesn't just make accusations like that for no reason!

But that speculation would have to wait. The expression had only been on his face a moment, but he had been staring right at her. A moment was one moment too long.

The Pilgrim averted his eyes to the Holonet feed again, drumming the fingers of his left hand on the table top. He didn't want to address the second part of her statement, because that would require him to lie. He needed to find something to distract her...

A thought struck him. She was looking for a member of the Found to talk to...and he was looking for a member of the Found. In fact, he knew where this Found was, and he had been on his way to speak with him when he came here to Manaan. He had no way of guaranteeing that the man would cooperate, and in fact, he probably wouldn't. But Arai was very good at dealing with those sorts of people...

This was working out far too well.

He sat bolt upright as if the idea had only just hit him, and he looked at her. "Wait..." he said slowly, wide-eyed. "You want to know more about ostanovium, right? I think I know someone who can help you."

She had to wonder what the hell had happened to him since he left the Jedi Order. Once upon a time, he would have told her anything that was going on in his life. Now, she couldn't even get him to admit that he was one of the Found. She was sure of his involvement in the group now, and the mention of someone he knew solidified her certainty. She broke into a wide grin.

"Oh, Dom," she said. "That would be beyond fantastic."

Then without warning, a hairy, grungy, drunk man bumped into their table. Distracted, Arai looked up and immediately wrinkled up her nose.

With a glare, she tried again and laughing, he mimicked her gesture. Frowning, Arai glanced at Dom and murmured, "This is new. So drunk as to be impossible to manipulate?" Turning back to the Drunk, she said, "Go away."

He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned in that stupid way only someone who's had almost more alcohol than is healthy for them can. "Nope."

She stared at him intently for a moment and then cringed. "Force, Dom," she whispered, "he's so drunk he doesn't have shatterpoints. It's just this sort of... mess of..." She shuddered. "I can hardly think, looking into him like this..."

Targhee Ghut, startled out of his suicidal plans to choke himself due to Garren's sudden shout, scrambled to his feet, ran to his desk, and took a ring of well-worn keys out of the middle drawer. Surrendering, he handed the key ring to Garren. He was horrified by the holonews report--and by the spy...

"Here, here. Take keys. Use keys and open every drawer in file cabinet over there on wall." He pointed frantically, jabbing his index finger at the rusty metal monolith of which he spoke. "In top drawer, look for big file SKELCH. In middle drawer, look for file BAD METAL. In the very bottom, bottom drawer, look for THRESHOLD. Me not know what that file says, but it give me shivers."

Targhee stared at Garren. "Gotta go," he said, and then fled from his office.

ABOARD THE MILLENNIAL, TRAINING ROOM

"Sal!" Perdante deactivated her lightsabers immediately and rushed to help him. "Are you all right?" She seriously wondered what had happened. Were her Juyo moves so intense that she had literally knocked him to the ground? In that case, she was worried about what would happen during an actual battle. What would her opponent do if THAT happened? For now, she settled for helping Salvatore to his feet...and yielding to his arms--!

Before her conscious mind knew what it was doing, Perdante had Salvatore caught in a full-fledged and fully un-Jedi-like liplock. Heat flooded her face...

Dominic looked warily at the man, glanced back down at Arai, and then back up at him. No shatter points...? He pressed his lips into a thin line and frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. Clearing his throat to catch the man's attention, he reached his hand across the table to brush hers possessively - and it was very difficult, even for him, to tell if it was just to try and scare the guy off or not. After all...most guys, when faced with a formidable rival, backed off.

"Look, man," he said, dropping to a dialect that he might understand as he slid to the edge of his seat. "She's kind of with me right now, so if you could just..."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Had he fallen on purpose? No, he certainly hadn't. But it was one of the skills of the Caraway twins to turn any situation to their advantage, so when she came to help him...he let her. For a second or two.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine," he said, shaking his head as if to clear it. He offered his arm up when she neared, and clasped her arm at the elbow. Pushing off the ground with his other hand, he leaned on her arm only slightly until he was about two inches off the ground. Then, certain that he had more weight with him now than she had balance, he fell back to the ground and brought her with him. A simple tug on her arm with the strong, persuasive grip he had, and she was face-to-face with him.

Salvatore had only intended to bring her so close to him so as to make her uncomfortable...but he had miscalculated. And suddenly he was kissing her.

At first, he wasn't sure what to do. This was...bad. This was a Jedi's lips that were on his now. This was so against the rules...but...he wasn't going to object. And it was nice. So his lips, which had been frozen in surprise up until that point, moved gently against hers.

Juhani's apprentice nearly fled the Training Room, her composure utterly gone. However, her subconscious mind knew that if she did, Juhani would be even more angry with her than she would if she tried to deal with the situation instead of run from it. Jedi weren't cowards. They faced up to their problems, especially if they themselves were at fault.

"Uh," she stammered, clearing her throat, "I was practicing my Juyo moves when Salvatore here offered to be my opponent. I accepted, and we began sparring. I went into this series of combinational attacks, completely overwhelming him, as was the objective. However, when I tried to help him up, I just...lost my head, Juhani! I swear by the Force itself!"

Salvatore had just been leaning up to deepen the kiss when he felt her tense above him...and it wasn't a good sort of tense. A moment later, he knew why.

"What do you think that you're doing?"

Perdante ripped sharply away from him, and he looked over at the door, being caught totally stupid for a minute. Juhani directed her sharp cat eyes at him, and he fumbled for words - and, of course, found none. "Um...er, I...umm..."

The Jedi stood up, and he got up too, rubbing his palms, which had become a bit sweaty under the sudden stress of being caught, on his pants as he gulped. Or attempted to gulp. His mouth was bone dry. "Y-yeah, what she said."

"However, when I tried to help him up, I just...lost my head, Juhani! I swear by the Force itself!"

Juhani turned her gaze from Salvatore to her apprentice and shook her head. "That is an excuse apprentice. I don't like excuses." She was visbly struggling to keep her notorious cathar temper under check.

She grabbed her apprentice by the scruff of her robes and began dragging her out of the training room. "You will remain in your quarters until I come to have a talk with you."

She slowly turned her head to look at Salvatore. "And you. You will stay away from my apprentice. I was trying to stay away from your captain for now but now I feel I have no choice. I will be speaking to her shortly."

Juhani continued on her way out the door all while dragging her apprentice behind her.

Perdante let herself relax and be dragged to her quarters. Normally, she would NEVER have done that, no matter WHO was doing the dragging, but after seeing Juhani's monumental display of Dark-Sided rage earlier, she decided to play it safe and keep quiet. As for giving an "excuse" for her behavior, of course it was an excuse, but the young Knight had a feeling that an "I'm sorry" wouldn't have cut it, either. Thus, she meekly submitted to being locked in her chambers.

But the drunk wouldn't take the hint. He pushed awkwardly at Dominic's shoulder and slurred, "I ain't talkin' to you." Then he turned back to Arai and with a plastered-on grin, he said, "I's got a niiiice place sssshweetie. I take you there."

And with that, everything became painfully simple. Arai wasn't sure if it was because she'd stared at him too long or if she'd just lost what little patience she had left. Either way, the answer to this pesky drunk was nothing more strenuous than a nightmare. Her stare turned into a full-on glare and she embraced the Dark Side. The drunk stared back, suddenly quiet, eyes wide in growing terror.

Then, Arai spoke softly. "This is the path you entrust yourself to. Endless drunken nights, all strung together, nowhere to go but the dumpster behind a house that is no longer yours. Your friends will leave you, you will have no hope for redemption. In time, even your next drink will fail to come, and then what will you be?"

He took a step back and Arai rose, almost snarling as she clamped a hand on his shirt collar and threw him to the ground. "Less than the scum you are now. Is that the life you want? Or should I end your misery here and now?"

As she finished, tiny arcs of lightning played across the fingertips of her right hand...

The navigation officer looked after the retreating women, scratching the back of his head. "Um...okay..." he said slowly.

Looking back over the last few minutes, he had to wonder what in Sith's blood had just happened. Better yet...what had he gotten himself into?

- - - - - - - - - -

Dominic watched Arai deal with the drunkard with a growing sense of alarm. This...this wasn't the woman he was used to. This was someone much darker, much more...terrifying.

When the sparks started to fly, he knew that he had to intervene. Getting quickly to his feet, he crossed to her and grabbed her by the wrist, yanking her none-too-gently around to face him. "Arai." he hissed. "Calm down!"

She spun willingly with him, her rage suddenly finding a new target. But as she glared daggers into him, her hand ready to spray lightning into his gut, the fire in her eyes swiftly choked up and died. Gasping for breath, she closed her eyes and fell to her knees, tears beginning to fall.

"Do you get it now?" she asked, her voice wavering, heavy with the emotions of anxiety and fear. "Dom, this ostanovium stuff, it's not just a passing interest. If it's legit, I karking need it if I want to stay sane."

"Thank you for informing me Zen. I appreciate it. I think that as soon as I have a free moment I'll go and speak with Visas. There is something that I wish to discuss with her. Something concerning the exile."

Zen did not know much of this exile. He had heard she was a very great warrior but other then that he knew nothing.

"You are welcome Grand Master," he said using the other title she had.

In his culture name was one of the most important things to a Sangheili, and with name often came title. As a veteran he had earned many titles over the years and done so with great valor. So when he addressed his comrades on the ship he would often state their title first and then the name.

Zen watched as Juhani got up to leave before he could ask her a question he had in the back of his mind. Seeing that she had not seen her comrade Visas in a while he decided to wait for a better moment to bring it up again. He helped put anything back that he thought looked out of place and left the room in a few minutes.

Not a few seconds later did he run into Juhani who was literally dragging Perdante by her robes. He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of this. It very much reminded him of what his mother would do when he had misbehaved. He began to follow the two and flashed Perdante a smile.

"Former Sith Perdante, you never cease to amuse me," he said to her before looking over at Juhani. " Grand Master Juhani, what has she done that causes you such anger? I can watch over this "child" for you if you still have not gotten the chance to speak with your comrade," he added in trying to be helpful.

"Grand Master Juhani, what has she done that causes you such anger? I can watch over this "child" for you if you still have not gotten the chance to speak with your comrade,"

Juhani made sure the door was shut properly before responding to Zen. "She broke a certain Jedi rule. Something that shouldn't be broken under any circumstance. I would be grateful if you watched over her quarters to make sure that she doesn't leave until I have a talk with her."

She turned to leave. She smiled slightly. She had no intention of talking to the captain. Her apprentice was the one who had made the first move from what she understood and he had simply responded.

One warning is all he gets. She thought. One warning.

She sighed once and then headed for her apprentice's quarters. It was time to have a talk with her.

A mixture of anger, confusion, and sorrow had flooded the Jedi Knight's mind as she sat on her bunk, her head bowed. What had come over her? One moment, she and Salvatore had been sparring in a perfectly appropriate, organized way. The next moment, she had leapt into her attack, and then the kiss...That kiss!

"A Jedi shall not know hatred, nor anger, nor love..." She repeated these tenets to herself, almost whispering, but they rang hollow in her ears. What did the Jedi know about sudden passion, about finding a person you "clicked" with, about experiencing emotion instead of always denying and repressing it? It wasn't fair. Part of her knew that Juhani was right and that her actions would only lead to folly. Still, she wished someone understood, and would not judge her.

Perdante could not hold back her tears any longer, and so she wept softly.